Destinations Revealed: More Specifics of Soarin' Across America Announced

We're getting more specifics about the journey our flight will take as we celebrate 250 years of the United States of America aboard an updated Soarin' at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.

What's Happening:

• Disney Parks is getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America with an update to the popular Soarin' attractions at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
• Dubbed "Soarin' Across America," the flight will take us along coastlines, cityscapes, and natural landscapes across the country, and now we're getting a bit more specific in regards to the locations that we'll be gliding over.
• According to the Disney Parks Blog, guests will "glide above iconic urban and natural wonders, from the rugged New England coastline and the radiant welcome of New York Harbor to the vast expanse of Grand Canyon West."
• The flight will also head to the heartland to see the colors of autumn, the bayous, the great plains of the west, the northern wilderness, and sunlit island shores.
• Images showcased also imply that we'll see Mount Rushmore, a New England harbor, and a Hawaii coastline on our flight.

• New music by Bruce Broughton based on the original Jerry Goldsmith Soarin' themes will be featured in the new iteration of the attraction.
• At Walt Disney World, the Soarin' Challenge interactive game in the attraction queue will also see an all-new challenge. Created in collaboration with National Geographic, guests can play the Soarin' Challenge Across America, to discover which state is "Most Likely to Reach for the Stars," "Most Likely to Strike Gold" and more, with images and facts from the National Geographic archives.
• Soarin' Across America debuts at EPCOT on May 26, and at Disney California Adventure on July 2.

The Original Intent?

• Soarin' Across America - in a strange way - is a full circle moment for this attraction.
• Jump with us back to the early 90s, when a theme park was announced that the world would never see: Disney's America. While yes, very controversial, it was also very ambitious. And all of it celebrated the history of the United States. Just before it was cancelled, it was even renamed "Disney's American Celebration."
• One of the themed lands that guests would walk through was an area called "Victory Field" which was home to flight hangars and an airstrip (yes, hold that thought you just had) which would be home to an innovative flight simulator that - in this instance - would be set during World War II and would feature guests in training flights, using massive domed screens and innovative ride system
• Well, the park was ultimately cancelled, but a lot of those rides and attractions lived on. If Victory Field sounded at all familiar to you - it was largely recycled and became Condor Flats at Disney's California Adventure in 2001, home to the park's signature attraction - Soarin' Over California.
• Though now, instead of a training flight in the middle of World War II, we're now gliding peacefully over the landscapes of California.
• The attraction was so popular, it was built at different Disney Parks around the globe, including EPCOT at Walt Disney World. Though we got a later evolution in 2016 with "Soarin' Around The World," this upcoming 2026 edition at the stateside parks is a fun little "IYKYK" wink since we'll be flying over the States in a celebration of America.